Adult attachment and OCD symptoms: the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty and beliefs about losing control

Objectives: Attachment orientation has been argued to play a role in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, but this relationship has yet to be fully understood. Attachment orientation may also contribute to appraisals of uncertainty such as threatening and negative beliefs about the consequences of loss of control, constructs which may also be associated with OCD. The present study aimed to investigate whether intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and negative beliefs about losing control (BALC) mediate the relationship between attachment and OCD symptoms.

Method: Two hundred and five participants were recruited from the general community to undertake a cross-sectional online survey which included the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale – 12 item, the Beliefs About Losing Control Inventory, and the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised.

Results: Attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, IU, and BALC were positively correlated with OCD symptoms. Both attachment dimensions were associated with IU and BALC. IU and BALC were found to be serial multiple mediators in the relationship between both attachment dimensions and OCD symptoms, though only the relationship between attachment anxiety and OCD remained significant when controlling for the corresponding attachment dimension.

Conclusion: The results suggest that IU and BALC may play a key role in the relationship between attachment and OCD symptoms.